I (Strawberry) Heart…

by Emily

The five most exciting edible things from this weekend —

{1} There’s a new cookie dough place in our mall. The serving size was stupid big and they wouldn’t let us split the scoop into two flavors but it was delicious. We went with Oreo.

{2} I discovered a Sonic that’s not super far from our house. How excited am I about strawberry diet cokes??

{3} I’m back on the coffee obsession train. I was feeling a little under the weather last week and it was hard for me to drink anything roasty but thank goodness that’s over.

{4} The worker at Chipotle was extra generous with the fajita veggies and cheese and I ended up with a wonderful salad – romaine / chicken / pinto beans / peppers and onions / corn salsa / hot salsa / cheese.

{5} We went to Hanco’s and I had Vietnamese iced coffee with strawberry jelly hearts in it! Plus a really fantastic bahn mi with vegan pork (tofu).

P.S. Today’s my day off! And it’s also Adam’s day off!! And we are going into Brooklyn for lunch!!!

13Apr2018

Chili Cheese Fries Because It’s Still Chilly

by Emily

Seriously, why is it so chilly still?? Over the weekend I dry cleaned our winter coats, packed up our sweaters, swapped boots for sandals, etc, etc, and then Monday morning it was a balmy 30 degrees.

Freezer-burn aside, I had quite a nice week! Tuesday I took a personal day to spend time with Adam post-call and we tried some yummy spots in Bayside. And I’m off again today because I work this weekend.

Here were the highlights from the week…

Chocolate glazed doughnut (from Dough) and a maple iced latte at Browny.

Juicy watermelon wonder kombucha.

Chia pudding. Chia seeds / skim milk / maple syrup / vanilla bean powder / sliced banana.

Peanuts are my favorite snack at the moment.

Dinner out at Maria’s Mediterranean. We got some complimentary bites to start, including the best olives I’ve ever tasted.

Plus we ordered the chips and dip – housemade pita chips with tatziki / melitzanosalata, roasted eggplant puree / and tirokafteri, spicy feta spread.

I got the spanikopita for my entree.

And we tried something fun for dessert – ekmek, a bread pudding-baklava mash up with syrup-soaked shredded phyllo, custard, and whipped cream.

I leaned into the weather and made us big steamy bowls of chili. A loose version of this recipe from Iowa Girl Eats that is our favorite. The baked beans take it over the top.

I topped my bowl with sharp cheddar, plain Greek yogurt, and tons of Sriracha.

Our leftovers turned into cheese fries! Waffle fries / cheese – TJ’s 3 cheese blend / chili / ~~bacon~~ leftover duck. Plus green beans for something green.

And yesterday I made buffalo chicken meatballs. Ground chicken / panade / buffalo sauce / egg / cream cheese / cheddar. Plus sauteed carrots and celery to stay on theme.

It’s supposed to warm up this weekend, woo-hoo!

9Apr2018

Pig Squared

by Emily

Highlights from the weekend…

We went in to Manhattan early Saturday morning to check out the SNL line. <– never going to happen, people had been camped out for at least 24 hours On the plus side, we got to check out the leftover Easter decorations in Rockefeller Plaza.

We spent the day with a Buffalo friend who is living in the city for a year for fellowship. We took him to two of our favorite porcine named restaurants and on a long walk from Lower East Side to Tribeca and back.

Pig Bleeker for lunch. Smoked fried chicken sandwich with mayo, mustard sauce, hot sauce, and pickles, plus the crispiest fries.

Pig and Khao for dinner. I ordered the half hainanese duck, which came with duck fat fried rice which is apparently my favorite thing.

We had birthday cake croissants at Union Fare. Can sprinkle dust be a part of my everyday life?

We had a variety of cinematic favorite tributes this weekend. 90’s throwback snacks while we watched Empire Records on Rex Manning Day!

And a Thackery Binx inspired Daiquiri Binx cocktail – apple cinnamon infused white rum, simple syrup, fresh lime, egg white.

Eggcellent dinners using up our Easter leftovers.

Egg salad – with mayo, dijon, smoked paprika, and red and yellow bell pepper. Plus roasted broccoli. We scooped the salad with Trader Joe’s honey butter potato chips which was pretty fantastic.

Salad salad with a mango kombucha.

Romaine / cilantro salad dressing / blue cheese / smoked almonds / fried tofu / hard-boiled eggs.

Have a great week!

6Apr2018

Pepperoni Pizza

by Emily

The five best things I ate this week –

This week’s coffee combo. Trader Joe’s espresso blend.

A protein-packed yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with vanilla protein almond butter and an apple on the side.

A spring-y snack. Candied lemon slices and dark chocolate violet marshmallows.

Fancy toast. Topped with strawberry jam, Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, and a hard-boiled egg.

The highlight: pepperoni pizza with buttery roasted green beans on the side.

Trader Joe’s garlic crust / cooked in a casserole dish with olive oil on the bottom / topped with sliced mozzarella / tomato sauce with anchovy / turkey pepperoni / and Parmesan cheese.

2Apr2018

Bunny Bites

by Emily

The best things I ate this weekend were…

Easter candy! So much Easter candy.

Plus I made Oreo truffle balls with purple marshmallow Peep Oreos.

Lunch at Little Skips, an adorable coffee spot in Bushwick.

I got a bomb latte aka a latte that’s the bomb because it has sweetened condensed milk in it.

And a vegan blt with smokey maple tempeh bacon, tomato, mixed greens, and house-made vegan cilantro-lime aioli on wheat toast.

Hawaiian desserts at Mahalo Bakery. We split a milk lovers cupcake (vanilla cake infused with a concoction of milks with cardamom spice and topped with whipped cream) and a slice of haupia pie (layers of semi-sweet Belgium chocolate, haupia, and coconut whipped cream).

Black eyed pea salad. We love this dish, it’s super tasty but easy-(black eyed) peasy. BEP / green bell pepper / smoked almonds / Kerrygold Dubliner cheese / Cholula hot sauce.

Spicy cabbage salad with shrimp. I loosely followed this recipe from Bon Appetit that I am obsessed with.

Have a great week!

30Mar2018

Open Toasted Sesame

by Emily

Highlights from the week…

Lemon shortbread Greek yogurt with a Jaffa mandarin and a coconut seltzer.

Coconut Chobani with Heritage Flakes and a sumo mandarin and a lemon seltzer.

Cookie butter cotton candy.

Sandwich night. Mock beef shaved tofu sauteed with red bell pepper and bbq sauce / served on a brioche bun / with mayo and provolone. Plus broccoli.

Barley bowls. Barley / roasted zucchini / crumbled seaweed snacks / canned mackerel and smoked sardines mashed together with some mayonnaise / Sriracha and gojuchang on top.

A knock-your-socks-off good dinner date at Gristmill.

The Ali Baba cocktail = gin, lemon, cream, egg white, and toasted sesame.

I went with the pre-fix option because I wanted too many things to choose!

Local greens salad with carrot, watermelon radish, and toasted sesame vinaigrette. This was delicious af and while we were eating it the owner came by and excitedly told us about sourcing his greens, so that was fun.

Chicken liver mousse with bread crackers, concord grape jam, and dulce de leche.

Best plain cheese pizza I’ve ever eaten. <– Gristmill is famous for their wood-fired oven.

Plus we had an affogato and that thing lurking in the back is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten with caramelized white chocolate ganache and sourdough pretzel crumbs.